ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
13-WDTN-03-AUSA (Civil)
About the Office: The United States Attorneys' Offices prosecute federal criminal offenses and represent the interests of the United States in civil and criminal cases. The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee serves 22 counties in West Tennessee spanning 11,331 square miles. The office employs over 70 individuals with 34 attorneys assigned to the Memphis office, five attorneys assigned to the Jackson Branch office, and 37 support staff. Our office is large enough to enjoy a wide variety of case assignments and small enough to be collegial and collaborative. We place a high value on diversity of experience and cultural perspective. We encourage applications from trial attorneys from all ethnic groups, all genders, veterans, and individuals with disabilities. Our headquarters office is located in Memphis, with a staffed branch office in Jackson, TN.
Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The Office has an opening for an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in its Civil Division. This attorney will handle a wide variety of civil cases at the district court and appellate level involving, for example: prisoner litigation, defense of social security claims, defensive torts (property damage and personal injury,; Bivens claims; employment discrimination; land condemnations; foreclosures; defensive environmental claims; affirmative civil enforcement; commercial litigation; challenges to agency actions; tax matters; affirmative civil rights; and bankruptcy. Specific case assignments vary depending on the particular needs of the office. The position may also involve some administrative responsibilities.
Qualifications: Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least one year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.
United States citizenship is required.
Preferred Qualifications: Ideally, applicants will have one to three years of experience litigating civil cases in federal court or similar relevant experience, with responsibility for all aspects of discovery, pretrial hearings, settlement negotiations, trials, and appeals.
Applicants must be flexible and willing to learn new areas of the law, forthright and diplomatic in dealing with client agencies and the court, and dedicated to public service by way of a commitment to representing the United States.
The selected AUSA will receive training by the U.S. Department of Justice and by the U.S. Attorney's Office to help in the development of requisites skills for becoming a seasoned attorney.
Applicants must demonstrate superior written and oral communication skills. They must be able to define and articulate critical issues in a wide variety of cases and areas of law. Applicants must be able to manage a caseload composed of very different kinds of cases with correspondingly different demands and deadlines. Applicants must be self-starters, willing and able to conduct their own legal research and writing, be substantially self-sufficient in managing cases and deadlines, preparing day-to-day correspondence and filings, and using computer programs and systems (CM/ECF, word processing, Westlaw, Lexis/Nexis, etc.).
Travel: Occasional travel may be required.
Type of Position: This is a permanent position. However, all initial attorney appointments to the Department of Justice are made on a 14 month (temporary) basis pending favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
Salary Information: Assistant United States Attorneys' pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number of years of professional attorney experience. The range of basic pay for this position is $44,581 to $131,534 plus 14.16% locality pay.
Location: This position is located in Memphis Tennessee. Memphis is the largest city in all of Tennessee, with a population of 646,889, making it the third largest city in the southeastern United States. Memphis serves as a hub for FedEx and Delta Airlines. It is also home to three Fortune 500 companies: FedEx, AutoZone, and International Paper. Memphis has much to offer culturally, with annual events like Memphis in May, the Beale Street Music Festival, the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and festivals celebrating Greek, African, Hispanic and Italian heritage. Much of American music has its roots in Memphis, from blues and rock 'n' roll to gospel and country. Whether you're visiting the historic National Civil Rights Museum, the Peabody Hotel and its famous ducks, gliding down the Mississippi River, strolling along Beale Street or touring Elvis' beloved Graceland, Memphis has much to offer.
Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses will not be authorized.
Application Process and Deadline Date:
Required documents and information:
• Resume
• Cover letter that highlights interest in the position and addresses in detail how the applicant meets the qualifications;
• Summary of litigation experience, including the number and types of cases handled and tried;
• Writing sample; and
• References
Submit required application correspondence to:
Edward L. Stanton III, United States Attorney
United States Attorney's Office
167 North Main Street, Suite 800
Memphis, Tennessee 38103
No telephone calls please. To receive consideration for this vacancy, applications/resumes must be postmarked by 5:00 p.m. Central Standard Time on February 1, 2013.
You must include the vacancy announcement number (13-WDTN-03-AUSA) on your resume and all correspondence.
Security Requirements: Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint and credit and tax checks, and drug testing. In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
Internet Sites: Information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee can be found at: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/tnw/. This and other attorney vacancy announcements with the Department of Justice can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html
Department Policies: Assistant United States Attorneys generally must reside in the district to which he or she is appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. § 545 for district-specific information.
The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any non merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys’ Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).
The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.